Testosterone Levels and Sexual Maturation Predict Substance Use Disorders in Adolescent Boys: A Prospective Study

Background This investigation determined whether testosterone level and sexual maturation in boys biased development of socially nonnormative behavior culminating in a substance use disorder (SUD). Methods The subjects were 179 boys recruited in late childhood through a high-risk paradigm. Path analysis was used to evaluate the influence of testosterone level and sexual maturation in early adolescence (age 12–14) on attitudes toward antisociality, affiliation with deviant peers, and social potency in middle adolescence (age 16), illicit drug use by late adolescence (age 19), and SUD in young adulthood (age 22). Results Testosterone level predicted social potency and approval of aggressive/antisocial behavior. Sexual maturation mediated the relation between testosterone level in early adolescence and later affiliation with deviant peers. Social potency, approval of aggressive/antisocial behavior, and deviant peer affiliations predicted illicit drug use by late adolescence that in turn predicted SUD in young adulthood. Conclusions This study demonstrated that pubertal processes in early adolescence influence the risk for SUD via effects on psychosocial functioning.